Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• v9 - "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness"
• God sometimes permits thorns to come into our lives in order to minister to us
• It may seem odd
• The ministry of the thorn has enable countless Christians to grow closer to God
• Paul's thorn
• In the flesh
• To perhaps find help in the hindrances
• What do we learn?
• Three things

A Source of Pain

• Not a minor inconvenience 
• A massive blow to his ministry
• Thorn (v7) - not a rose thorn but a spike or a stake
• Something that would have been used in torture
• Used in the extreme
• Speculation:
• A kind of spiritual attack: some sin or particular temptation
• A physical problem:
• Gal 4:13 - he had "physical infirmity"
• Gal 4:15 - maybe an eye complaint
• Persecution by various opponents
• Not sufficient information to be categorically certain
• Paul identifies with infirmities, reproaches, in need, in persecutions and in distress
• A messenger of satan - a demon: some form of demonic attack (v7)
• People were directly attacking his gospel ministry and discrediting the gospel
• Paul thought the best thing was to completely remove it
• We might think the same thing
• Paul prayed 3 times - he prayed continuously that God would remove the thorn in his flesh
• God only spoke to him when he finished praying (v9)
• Sometimes we are so busy telling God to remove the problem that we don't hear Him speaking to us through the problem

A Word of Comfort

• A two fold word of comfort:
• Purpose - "lest I be exalted above measure" (x2) - v7
• Quote from Gordon MacDonald - God uses 'disruptive moments'
• [Provision]

Purpose

• He had an exalted experience of God 14 years ago - caught up into the Third Heaven
• He speaks about himself in the 3rd person
• He humbles himself in contrast to the 'supra-apostles'
• Explanation of the Third Heaven
• Compare with Enoch and Elijah
• He did not become proud and puffed up
• This thorn came into his life to humble him, to buffet him
• He learns how God can use broken people - earthen vessels
• This is his experience

Provision

• Provision - God makes provision in our sufficient: My grace is sufficient
• Illustrative Story of CH Spurgeon
• The infinite riches of God's grace
• Unlimited stores of grace
• "God's strength is made perfect in weakness"
• The same word when Christ on the cross says "it is finished"
• Something complete
• Example of King Uzziah

A Means of Blessing

• Paul's weakness became his strength
• Has this not been our experience?
• On the mountain tops - our hearts often go cold, in the valleys - we are often brought to our knees before God
• God will use the thorns to make us more effective in His service
• Paul boasts in his infirmities because he is strong in Christ
• In his weakness he sees God strength
• He realises that this thorn is actually a blessing
• Example of Jacob & Elijah
• Illustration from Chuck Swindall